One of my New Favorite Things

I like people, I always have. My parents were people, my sisters were people, MOST of my old boyfriends were people.....

No just kidding. But I still really like people.

I've spent a lot of time talking about how art is inclusive and how I want my gallery to become a safe place for people to come and create or talk about creating. It's not always clear as to how to do that but I feel I'm on the path. My studio is a very small space 11' x 18' but it has big beautiful windows looking North on the street.  I like sitting at my drawing table and painting. Sometimes I'm not paying much attention to what's going on. I get lost in my art. Sometimes people will venture in and sit in my comfy white chair to talk with me a bit.

But as the days have cooled down I have kept the front door open, and all of a sudden the world on the street changed.

 I  keep on painting as I want but a simple hello from the inside of my studio (me) has opened a wonderful world of the residents and visitors to Rockton. It has been a pleasure slowly getting to know these people. They're not eccentrics like those found in Savannah Georgia in the book, Midnight In the Garden of Good and Evil. No One is tying strings to flies and walking them around as pets. But, let me tell you these people are just as fascinating.

There's the cute young couple who have just adopted a new puppy. It is their baby, and it is so fun to watch their excitement. There's the older woman walking her dog who has incredible stories of escaping from Germany in her youth. Just getting to know some of the other shop owners has been a lot fun, and very helpful. It's great to be able to shout out people's names as they pass by. And my thoughts are... oh my gosh these people make this little town even more charming than it looks.

I also love it that some people feel comfortable enough to stop by and paint WITH me. When I have a larger place this will be a part of the weekly schedule but for now I have some friends who call up and say lets paint together tomorrow. I've even had classes out on the sidewalk. They're wonderful!  Facing North, the building always puts us in shade. Perfect for painting. Perfect for getting to know even more of these people who are passing my gallery.




And just to be clear... There are plenty of non- people I adore too.

Cooper, my studio Manager

See you Friday with 

my first 30 in 30!

 

A Quick Look Back at the Summer and a Glimpse Forward

I'm getting ready for another 

30 paintings in 30 days starting September 1st.

It's that time of the year. Back to school and back to work. I'm looking forward to this year's 30 in 30 because there's so many paintings I want to do along with class development. Some paintings take longer than one day. I like to pack away a few pics for those days... and so I have plenty of new works for Greenwich Village and Fall Art Scene.

It's been awhile since I've blogged. It's been an exciting summer. I've been busy with a few things...


Starting with Beth And Adrian's Wedding.

It was wonderful! Everything went very smoothly.
I came home to the Klehm show and then 4 weeks of the Rockton River Market.









July brought two
art camps held, in Conover Wisconsin.





 The beautiful surroundings can't help but to become an inspiration to new paintings.








Oh and then this happened...

I'm in my new studio & gallery and it's wonderful! I love coming to the studio each day to welcome guests to the gallery and to paint. I've had to get very strict with myself and stay away for the two days each week I am not open. (Sunday & Monday) It comes down to that pesky scheduling issue again. I stay away for two days to do blogging, newsletters, bookkeeping, etc., which I have let go of this summer. But there's nothing like a 30 in 30 to get one blogging again. It's a matter of getting used to a new schedule.

Being in the studio has allowed me to accomplish quite a bit of painting and am happy to say that I'm more than half way done with the book I'm illustrating. It looks like I'll be making that September deadline after all. We're hoping that the book will be available April of 2018. Now, to finish a few more projects and on to the Christmas cards and holiday commissions.

What's next?
Well, my favorite show of the year, Greenwich Village Art Fair is September 16 & 17th at the parking lot of the Rockford Art Museum. Fall Art Scene is around the corner, October 6th & 7th as well. 

So here we go... looking forward to the Fall.

Are you interested in doing the 30 in 30 challenge too? Sign up here.